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Saturday, December 29, 2012

We managed to have a "white" Christmas as my parents live further north
than where we do, and it was truly a wonderful day.

Christmas doesn't
even begin for me until I am with my sister Jennie who has Down's syndrome. She certainly keeps the true spirit of Christmas alive, and it's as if seeing it through the
eyes of a child every year.

Speaking of children; I had
the opportunity to have two of my favourite little people in the world stay overnight at my home Thursday into Friday.

I know I am a wee bit biased, but seriously I have never met two greater
kids then my 9 year old twin niece and nephew. They are such bright, articulate
and funny little people. We had sooooo much fun together the entire time they were here and they most certainly kept us entertained!

They both know what a crafty Auntie they have, so it didn't surprise me when they asked if we could make cards. I basically opened up the craft store and let them do their stuff. All I did was clean up the mess.I am so very proud of their creativity and want to share it with all of my friends out here in blog-land.

They chose to make Happy New Year cards, so without further adieu....

Happy New Year by Kyle

Happy New Year by Ryann

You should have seen the
look on their faces when I told them I would be posting their creations on my
blog. They were even more excited when I told them that people will probably
leave some comments for them when they stop by to see what they’ve been up to.

Kyle, Ryann and I want to
wish you all a happy, healthy and very happy New Year!

But before I get to that, I just want to remind you all about this great online magazine.

The video on my left sidebar was created by Jo Ham, and it gives you a glimpse of what the magazine has to offer.

The November/December issue of Through the Craft Room Door online magazine has 90 + pages of fun tutorials, loads of inspiration and FREE digital images that are located in the "Subscribers Only Area.” You will also have access to all the previous issues when you join, so what are you waiting for you're just one click away.Now on to this weeks "Anything Goes" challenge.

Each and every
page is filled with articles on various crafty tools, featured guests, tutorials, and lots of crafty ideas, but most of all it has a ton of inspiration.

PLUS, with each issue you'll receive free digi's, and right now there are up to 33
awesome digital images for you to download once you become a member. They can be easily found in the "subscribers
only" area.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

I managed
to get my card finished just in time for Eclectic Ellapu's"Team Purple"challenge this week. It is being hosted by my fellow DT member Jacki, and boy oh boy has she picked a fun one this week!

I printed
Bismarck out onto white Gina K card stock (which I have mixed feelings about btw), and then coloured him up with my Copic
markers. My hands cooperated for the vast majority of the week thankfully.

All the
papers are from my stash, and I embossed the tan coloured piece with a SU folder called Petals-A-Plenty. I put a touch of Icicle Stickles in the centre
of each flower as you can barely see that I did in fact emboss it.

The
snowflakes and evergreen are Martha Stewart punches which I have layered for more
dimension. (I am not 100% on the border punch because I borrowed it from a
friend and made a ton of borders last year while I had it in my possession).

For those
of you that don’t know about it yet, just know that it is just as awesome as
the Outlawz, but for me it will only require a biweekly commitment.

It is also
my intention to stay with Eclectic Ellapubecause it too is a biweekly commitment, and the wonderful girlies over there have given me the freedom of joining in the challenges as my situation allows...I promise you I will not go down without a fight, so hang in there with me peeps!

I'd also like to mention that my card isn't 100% finished. Other than that beautiful gold glitter star, I still want to add a few
little details. Perhaps a Christmas sentiment and/or ribbon, but my week was a little bit hectic.

The DP is from MME, Holiday Glitter Book that I have had for a few years now, and of course regular card stock from my stash.

I used a
bit of glossy accents on the halo, and for that necessary bling/glitter; I used "Stardust" stickles on her wings.

I have also layered her a bit to give everything more depth as you can see in the photo below.

I printed
this sweet angel out onto Neenah card stock and then coloured her with my Copic
Markers.

Copic
Markers Used:

Skin – E21,
00, 000

Hair &
Dress – E55 53, 51, 50 & W01

Wings – W00
& BG0000

Halo – YR24,
23 Y17, 13

There you have it, another awesome challenge awaiting you over at the Outlawz.

Pop over to see what my fellow DTeamies have made to inspire you, and get that glitter out!!!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Hello there crafty
peeps and welcome back to another Eclectic Ellapuchallenge.

It's a D/T Purple challenge and I have the privilege of hosting this weeks theme. With that privilege brings the responsibilities of writing up the
post, as well as having to pick the winner, runners up and top five in the end.

For all intents and purposes this will be NO
easy task from what I have seen since day one!

I just had to have this image because my
Mother worked as a switchboard operator for Bell Canada back in the early 1950’s, knowing full well that she would love to receive a card with this image on it.

Challenge # 4 " It's A Vintage Thing"

I printed
the image onto Neenah card stock and then coloured it with my Copic markers using the warm gray collection;

W00, 01, 03, 05, 07 and 08.

I've also layered a couple of sections
such as the chair back and the lower half of the switchboard.

The DP is
from K&Company’s “Classic K Margo” collection, and then I used some plain card
stock from my stash.

I used a
Sizzix embossing folder and a EK Success border punch that I borrowed from my good friend Charlene. I made the flowers by using individual precut flowers that I coloured with my Copics; assembled together, scrunched, and flattened as if they were stuck in an old book
somewhere. Then I added a little bling, some ribbon and a little distressing for that finishing touch...the sentiment (both inside and out) I made up and printed out on my good ole puter!

I found
this picture (below) on the internet which I am intending to use for a scrapbook layout. I have a fantastic photo of my Mother actually sitting at her switchboard back in the day and thought this would be a nice addition to it.

I will use the card as well after she has enjoyed it for a while.

Well that’s
it from me peeps, please take some time and drop byEclectic Ellapu for more
inspiration from my fellow DT’eamies. Trust me, you will be blown away!

I hope you will join all of us this week, and I can’t
wait to see your "Vintage" interpretations!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Well its
Thursday again crafty peeps, and with that comes Friday, ha ha ha....seriously,
with that comes another Twisted Thursday “Anything Goes” challenge
over at the Outlawz. This week our twist is Thanksgiving.

Canada has
already celebrated Thanksgiving and now it is our American friends turn to celebrate this delicious event!

This is the card that I made for the challenge.

I’ll bet that some of you are wondering why we
celebrate the same occasion on different dates aren't yeah?

In a
nutshell, originally Canada celebrated Thanksgiving because this dude named Sir
Martin Frobisher; an English Explorer arrived on our Newfoundland shores in
1578, and wanted a party to celebrate his safe arrival to the New World. So he did that with a bountiful harvest, which
because of our geography our harvest was available sooner than our American neighbours. It also includes thanking our Lord for His divine involvement as well, and rightfully so.

American’s originally
celebrated Thanksgiving because these people
known as Pilgrims showed up on their shores, and it pretty much
went along the same way as it did in Canada. There's a bit of trivia for you today too.

I used this beautiful
digital image created by our very own and multi-talented Anne Fenton. This
image was given out free to our members during a past challenge . I wasn't able to participate
in that challenge, and I have now been given the opportunity to use it.

I printed
the image out on to Neenah card stock and then coloured it with my Copic
markers.

I've altered it in a small way by colouring another bunch of grapes and fussy cut them out. I thought it
would be nice to have both green and red grapes on display.

For the
inside of the card I used some word art from Ginger’s Housethat I thought
fitting for this particular occasion.

I will be entering my card into two challenges this week -TTCRD - Anything Goes #42CMC - Anything Goes with a twist of orange #55

So I will
leave you with all this knowledge, and let you get to your craftiness. I
hope to see you this week over at the Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The
fictitious headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at
least the Middle Ages.

There is an
Irish, Scottish and German version of this particular folklore. If I'm not mistaken I think the Legend of Sleepy Hallow is based on this folklore as well, but don't quote me on that.

Basically
this "dark man" is a headless fairy/ghost/huntsman, usually riding a
black/gray horse and carrying his head under one arm (or holding it high to see
at great distance). He wields a whip made from a human corpse's spine. When he
stops riding, a death occurs. He calls out a name, at which point the named
person immediately perishes, or so the story goes.

This is the
second of two Halloween challenges I've had the privilege to design for, and this
one starts today over at the Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge.

This year I
bought several images fromMake it Crafty’sHalloween collection and I must say
I have really enjoyed colouring them up with my Copics.

Like the
cute little Dracula image I posted last Saturday, this one is equally adorable, if you dig headless people that is.

The collection also included Frankenstein and a really cool Halloween scene, which I've fussy cut to create my own little scene.

I made the sign myself by using a free Digi image from BrossArt Addiction, and modified it by printing the image onto DP from MME and then cutting it down to size in order for it to look like a sign. The sign post is simply a toothpick!

Copics
Used: Cape - W8, 7, 5, 3, 1, 00 YR9, 7, W3

Clothes – E59,
53 E19, 17, 15, 13 W5, 3

Fence – E49,
39, 37, 35, 33, 31

Boots – G99
and tip to tip with G94

PumpkinS –
Y19, 17 YR9, 7, 4, W5, 3

YR97, 95,
93, G85

Well peeps,
I hope you've enjoyed this week’s card, and I also hope that Dracula and the
Headless Horseman has put you in the mood for All Hallows Eve and inspired you to get into the crafty spirit...no pun intended either.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Hey there
crafty peeps, do you remember me telling you a while back that I was going to
be designing for a brand new challenge blog?

Well the
day has finally arrived where I get to step up to the plate and show you my
contribution to this very unique blog.

EclecticEllapu went live last week with its very first challenge, and the turn out of entries has been brilliant! (btw that's a U.K. term for awesome!)The DTeamies are split into 2 teams - one for
every other challenge - the Pink team
started the ball rolling and the Purpleteam
is making its debut today and/or tonight. I mention tonight because the site hails from the U.K. and as you know they are on a different time zone
then us here in North America, generally speaking.

So, with out further adieu...our
second challenge, which Jacki, one of our Purple DTeamies is hosting, is a very scary one….

Halloween!

This is my card, cuz cards are what I do....

I instantly fell in love
with this little vampire, and I don't mean on a twilight level either! He is the cutest, rather than scariest vampire I've ever seen. He is a Make it Crafty image and was so fun to colour.

I printed him
out onto Neenah card-stock and coloured him with my Copic markers.

Cape/Clothes/Shoes – R29,
27, 24, 22, C9, 7, 5, 3

Hair – C9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 00

Skin – E11, 00, 000, 0000

I have these fantastic DP’s by
Recollections called Haunted Estate. This one was an instant background, and all I
did was add some glossy accents to make the bats pop, and illuminate to anything
white.

A piece of ribbon and blood coloured gems for the final touch.

Now a little bit about Eclectic Ellapu....well it's exactly what the name infers, an eclectic mix of creations. So in other words, you don't just have to be card makers, scrapbookers or paper crafters. Any form of crafty item/project is eligible, it just has to relate to the theme of the challenge.

There are no sponsors, thus no prizes, albeit with the exception of unique badges of honour that is. It is simply about showing off your creativity, and being told you're the best of the bunch. So basically, if you enter challenges just to win something other than the personal satisfaction of knowing you were picked # 1 for your craftiness, then this isn't the blog for you...I told you it was a totally unique blog! Oh, and you are picked by an actual person, not random.org. Each DTeamie has the opportunity to host a challenge, and they are the ones who pick the winner, runners up and top five. I hope you come over and give it a try. I must tell you too that having had the privilege to see what the challenge lineup is, I must say that there are some fantastic challenges coming your way! Let the fun begin team purple!Thanks for stopping by :)S

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Hey there
crafty peeps, it is another Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge.

We had a great
turn out from our members during last weeks Pumpkin twist, so let’s hope the same
happens again this week.

It shouldn't be a problem because I know you all love to play BINGO, don’t ya!

This past
weekend I had the opportunity to finally meet face to face with our fearless
leader/owner of the Outlawz web site, Colleen Holmes. A very beautiful women, inside and out.

Two
other DT’eamies, Darlene Lyons and Cindy Potentier along with our husbands met
Colleen and her husband Bill in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was a very exciting,
very exhausting fun filled weekend, and it wore me out...again.

I am still
suffering some unfortunate side effects, such as a wonky right hand, and dang isn't it my colouring hand too!

So, this week I only have a clean and simple card for
you.

I've had
this paper for some time in my stash and finally decided to use it. Don’t ask
me where it’s from either because I've had it that long. Either way, giving
that our fall season is in full swing here in Ontario, I thought this paper appropriate and too pretty to cover up with layers.

Now I've created a rather unique card in that it is reversible….you can use the inside
for the outside or the outside for the inside….ah neck let me show you what I
mean.

If you fold
the front toward the back the inside now becomes the outside, and the front
design is now inside. Two cards in one! Seriously, I didn't plan this I just noticed that fact while I was photographing it, LOL J

My
inspirational card for you today I made using a Bugaboo image that I received because I
signed up for their monthly newsletter. They have some great images and you can
get one for free every Friday.

I printed
out the digital image onto Neenah card-stock and then coloured it with my Copic
markers.

The DP is
from Recollections Signature “Haunted Estate” collection, and boy is it ever
creepy! In fact I can’t wait to show you my Halloween cards over the next two
weeks. I will be doing one for the Outlawz as well as for the new blog I am designing for, Eclectic Ellapu. So make sure you come back :)

The other
elements I used were from my stash, with that being; the ribbon and plain card-stock The sentiment was thought up by myself after studying the image for
a while, and simply printed out using the good ole puter. Oh, I also used a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Copic
colours used:

Pumpkins – Y19, 15, YR9, 7, 4, w3, E59, BG 96, YG97, 95, 93, 91

Skin – E13,
11, 00. 000

As I am typing this post I've just noticed that I forgot to colour the little heart on the baby pumpkin, oops no ones perfect!

Well that's all for me, I have to run to the mailbox to send this off to the three cutest little pumpkins that I know personally.

Guest Designer

I'm a winner

About Me

In 2000 I was stricken with a life altering illness that ended my professional career in law enforcement. You think your life is going according to plan, and then one day you wake up and it all changes. I have many physical disabilities that rob me of my independence. After overcoming many hurdles there came the day when I desperately needed to find something meaningful to do with my time. It had to be constructive, challenging, and had to keep my brain active. I tried so many different things that just didn’t light that spark, so I kept trying new things and so on. One day I found myself dabbling in the paper crafting world where I developed a passion for Copic Marker colouring, and guess what, I found that spark. Now I have a new passion, a new direction wherein that I want to learn more and more.
If somebody had of told me that I would eventually create a blog and display my artistic abilities within it I would have told them they were off their rocker! However, I didn't get here alone; together with the love of a wonderful man, a truly amazing family, my masterful friend Sean, and along with some awesome and wacky women friends, I was able to get it together.